Brookfield Raises Record $77 Billion Driven by Insurance Arm

Article content

(Bloomberg) — Brookfield Asset Management raised a record $77 billion in the second quarter, led mostly by its credit business, as the firm continues its push into the insurance sector.

Article content

The firm’s distributable earnings climbed 15% to $707 million, or 44 cents per share, roughly in line with the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Fee-bearing capital rose to $672 billion, up 19% over the previous year. 

Article content

Article content

“Our ability to fundraise across the largest and most diverse pools of global capital and deploy into the largest and most attractive investment themes continues to accelerate,” Chief Executive Officer Connor Teskey said in a statement Wednesday. 

Article content

Article content

The New York-based firm’s credit business raised $51 billion, largely from a $40 billion mandate to manage the assets of recently acquired annuities provider Just Group. Brookfield’s private equity flagship strategy took in $6.7 billion, while the infrastructure flagship fund gathered $9.3 billion. 

Article content

Article content

The majority of the capital is still coming from institutional investors, Teskey said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “But we are seeing very large and growing amounts of capital from insurance, from private wealth as well,” he said. 

Article content

Brookfield invested $21 billion across its businesses during the quarter and generated $11 billion from asset sales. 

Article content

The firm expects to launch fundraising for flagship funds for its credit and real estate strategies next year, Teskey told analysts. The timelines are “being pulled forward just based on our deployment and demand,” he said. 

Article content

Shares of Brookfield Asset Management rose as much as 3.7%, to $53.88. 

Article content

The alternative asset manager is entrenching itself into the buildout of AI infrastructure, where it sees a $7 trillion opportunity. Since the start of the year, the firm has formed a strategic partnership with OpenAI and expanded its partnership with US fuel-cell maker Bloom Energy to $25 billion from $5 billion. 

Article content

Article content

It has also expanded its AI infrastructure framework agreement with the French government by €10 billion ($11.5 billion) to €30 billion and teamed up with NextEra Energy Inc. to build a $100 billion data center campus in the US. 

Article content

“Without a doubt, the biggest theme around the world that we are seeing today is the investment in energy and infrastructure,” Teskey said, adding that the firm is seeing “diversified demand across the entire industry.” 

Article content

The firm held a first close in its AI infrastructure strategy, led by Sikander Rashid, bringing total commitments to $5 billion so far. 

Article content

(Updates with CEO comments from analyst call and share price movement starting in seventh paragraph.)

Article content